


Night Breaks Through

by newmrsdewinter



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Midnight musings, Myths and folklore, Nohr | Conquest Route, Not a Crossover, Sibling Bonding, major MAJOR spoilers for Fates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 21:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8225942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newmrsdewinter/pseuds/newmrsdewinter
Summary: Chrobin Week 2016, Day 4: Myth Morgan ignored her. "If Prince Xander was so smart, why'd he name his kid after his sword?""You're ruining the story!" Luci shrieked indignantly.Grand mythical tales about Nohr and Hoshido belong in bedtime stories for kids, but Chrom wonders what Robin would have done if she were in Corrin’s position.Takes place after Robin’s return post-game. Spoilers for all 3 paths of Fates.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore the deeprealms and Before Awakening DLC, it never happened. And major MAJOR spoilers for Fates.

 

“I wanna hear a story about Printh Thander and Thiegfried.”

“Luci, could you repeat that?”

“I said, I wanna hear a story about Prince _Xander_ and _Siegfried_ ,” she lisped back, glaring at her father through her gap-toothed maw. She had just lost her first tooth. “Are your ears working today?”

In the highest tower of Castle Ylisstol, Chrom fluffed Luci’s wet hair with a towel and glanced out the window. There was a thunderstorm raging outside that wouldn’t let up until the weekend was through. He frowned. Morgan and Lucina still weren’t home, otherwise they’d be helping him put Luci to bed.

Torrents of rain pelted the stained glass windows, and shadows danced across the room when lightning struck an outside spire. Too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice the booming cracks of thunder, Luci babbled at her dolls while Chrom brushed through her curls.

She peered up at him when he was done. “When’s mother coming back? I want her to tell me a story about Prince Xander.”

“What about me?” asked Chrom, feigning offense. “Are saying that I can’t tell a good bedtime story?”

Luci wrinkled her brow. “Yeah, ‘cause you don’t do the funny voices.”

Before he could reply, Robin entered Luci’s bedroom and slumped against the door. “Gods, going through all that paperwork was exhausting. How much did I miss while I was gone?”

Chrom snorted. “You could study all the amendments I tried passing last year and you’d still be behind.”

“I was gone for _two_ years,” Robin groaned. “I’m not even past all the documentation about Origin Peak to look at your amendments.”

Chrom shrugged. “Good luck. Where’s Morgan?”

As though on cue, Morgan filed in the room behind Lucina, both of them sopping wet. Morgan tore off his waterlogged coat and ignored Lucina’s grumblings, who was scowling at him with visible aggravation.

“We tried charming a broom with a wind tome to make it fly and it didn’t work,” he explained matter-of-factly. “Mother, can you help us?”

“She can’t,” said Luci point-blank, both hands on her hips. “Mother has to tell me a story about Prince Xander first.”

Robin picked up her youngest daughter and placed her on her lap on the bed. “Goodness, where on earth do you get your attitude from?”

“Not me,” said Lucina. “She was always like this when we returned home after Grima.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Chrom watched Luci curl up on Robin’s lap. She made a small noise when Morgan plopped himself onto the covers, sinking them all further into the duvet.

Lucina pulled a large, dusty storybook off Luci’s bookshelf. _Conquest_ was embossed on the cover in striking purple script. She handed it to her mother, who then opened it and thumbed through the pages.

“Well, maybe I can help you both out,” said Robin. “During Prince Xander’s time, there was a class of witch mages who actually flew broomsticks. Some were said to reside in the Woods of the Forlorn, and according to myth, these witches have some association with Prince Leo’s Brynhildr.”

“I wish I had a cool tome like that,” said Morgan. “I’d have to train so hard to reach his level.”

Robin hummed softly as she thumbed through the pages. “He was a bit younger than you when he awakened Brynhildr, but theoretically, any Class E mage could have….”

To Chrom, the thunderstorm outside could rage for as long as it liked; nothing but the return of Grima itself could disturb his family’s cozy content. Outside, raindrops streamed down the windowpanes, smearing the great city below in a golden, flickering wetness.

As the lamplight dimmed to a faint flicker, Robin’s soft, low voice settled into a pleasant murmur as she told story after story. The myths of gallant Sir Silas and Princess Corrin followed the fearsome battles between Prince Xander and the Hoshidan stronghold, battles where he was only armed with Siegfried, a great sword wreathed in black flames.

“ _....With a single mighty swing, Prince Xander clashed blades with the monster he once called his father. Bolts of black lightning from the Bölverk crackled against Siegfried’s sacred blade. The impact sent a terrible tremor through the palace which threatened to tear the walls asunder. This was a battle between giants, and only one of them would emerge victoriously…_ ”

The stories about Nohr and Hoshido were the myths that Emmeryn had told Chrom and Lissa when they were young children growing into adults, and they were the same ones he had hoped to tell his own kids when they were old enough to understand them. Chrom had even thought about Princess Corrin’s choice to side with Nohr when Emmeryn died. Her story had been difficult to read when Robin disappeared years later.

Perhaps, Chrom mused, his life with Robin was a living myth that the minstrels would sing about in the years to come. Their love was a continuing story that would be immortalized with the star-crossed romance of Prince Leo and Lady Flora. Emmeryn’s fall, Lucina’s leap through time, and even Robin’s heroic return would be tales that future parents would tell their children at night, similar to what Robin was doing right now with their children.

Once Robin finished the final story, Lucina said, “You know, there were actually three myth books about Nohr and Hoshido in my timeline.”

Robin shut the book. “Really? We have _Conquest_ in Ylisstol, and I know that Say’ri has _Birthright’s_ original volume in Chon’sin, but I never heard of a third book.”

“It was about the Invisible Kingdom, and if I remember correctly, it’s called _Revelations_.”

“That makes sense,” said Chrom thoughtfully. “The stories did seem incomplete when I read them as a boy.”

“Is there more Prince Xander in that story?” asked Luci. “What happened to it?”

“I don’t know. I never got to read it,” said Lucina. “It burned with Ylisstol when Grima was awakened, so it’s lost to time.”

“That’s too bad,” said Morgan. “I want to learn more about Prince Leo and his retainers.”

“I hope you’re not reading too much into Niles,” said Chrom severely. “He’s a terrible influence.”

"What happened to Prince Xander?" pressed Luci, tugging on her mother's sleeve. "Does he have a happy ending?"

"If Princess Corrin chooses Nohr, he marries and has a son named Siegbert. Isn't he adorable?" Robin flipped to a page and held up an painting of Prince Siegbert for everyone to see. “There might be more information about their lives in the appendix at the back. Let me check….”

"Wait a minute," said Morgan sleepily. "I thought Prince Xander’s sword was named Siegbert."

"No, stupid," corrected Lucina. "The sword is named Siegfried."

Morgan ignored her. "If Prince Xander was so smart, why'd he name his kid after his sword?"

"You're ruining the story!" Luci shrieked indignantly.

“Settle down, kids.” Robin cleared her throat and read, “After the war, King Xander ushered in a new era of peace. While he ruled justly, his radical policies were unpopular with much of the court. Scholars will later admit that this was necessary for the era of growth that followed when his son took the crown. The end.”

“Sounds familiar to me,” said Chrom dryly.

"That ending stinks," huffed Luci. "I wanna hear about Hoshido next."

"Well," said Robin, rising to place the book back on the shelf. "In _Birthright_ , Prince Xander kills Princess Elise with the Siegfried, but it’s an accident and he regrets it."

Luci gasped in horror. "Noooo! Not Princess Elise!"

“But it’s an accident,” said Chrom teasingly. “He didn’t mean to kill her.”

“I don’t want her to die! She didn’t do anything wrong!”  

Morgan bounced on the bed to capitalize on the moment. "Yup! Then Prince Xander lets Corrin run him through with the Yato 'cause life isn't worth living after that. And in that last moment of gruesome agony, he says -"

“He _DIES!?_ ” shrieked Luci. She began to cry.

“Well, depending on which version of the myth you hear, yes, he does die,” said Robin. “But his life after _Conquest_ isn’t exactly happy either.”

"And we haven't even started talking about what happened to Azura," continued Morgan gleefully. He danced out of Robin's reach when she tried smacking him upside the forehead. "She melts into bubbles, and she dies ‘cause she sings a lot, and it's like she never even exists -"

"Morgan, you stupid butthead!" Luci pelted him with her stuffed bunny and tried to kick him off the bed with her foot. "You always have to ruin storytime!"

Chrom watched Lucina rise from the rocking chair. "Mind your mouth, Luci," said Lucina warningly. "And Morgan -"

By the end of the night, all copies of _Birthright_ were declared contraband in Castle Ylisstol until Morgan agreed to write Luci an ending where everyone lives happily ever after.

 

* * *

 

Once all the kids were asleep and Robin was snuggled against him in bed, Chrom found himself asking, "Whose side would you have chosen?"

Robin made a soft noise. "Hmm?"

"I mean, if you were in the princess's shoes, would you choose Hoshido or Nohr?"

Although it was dark, Chrom could practically hear workings of Robin's mind as she formulated a response. He could tell she was still awake because she hadn't kicked the covers off the bed yet.

"Both sides have their merits," she said diplomatically. "Corrin wasn't blood-related to any of them, but I suppose her family ties were stronger with the Hoshidans. Her own mother was their queen, and she watched her die."

"But she was raised by the Nohrians."

"True. Either way, she loses a sibling. Princess Elise died to give Corrin advice she didn't listen to, and Prince Ryoma killed himself to spare her the guilt from raising her sword herself, and Prince Xander had her do it anyway. And don’t even get me started on Prince Takumi.”

Robin paused. “Prince Xander’s death puzzles me the most. He gave his life knowing that his cause was wrong and that he could have made it all better...and that his father….” She trailed off, lost in thought.

“Yes, Robin?” Chrom prompted softly.

“I could never do that,” said Robin. “If the myths are true, then he loved Nohr more than anything in his life. He was convinced that he was an obstacle to a better future. If I knew there was a way to fix everything, I’d defect my own country to make it all better. But he held his duty to the end like a true patriot. I could never be that selfless...”

Even though it was tempting to remind Robin that she had given her own life to save a world that condemned her birth, Chrom held his tongue.

“You’re thinking like a tactician,” he said. “He was only doing what he thought was right because he was a prince.”

“So were you,” said Robin softly, and her words held more meaning than Chrom would have liked to admit.

They stayed silent for a long spell. After spending so many nights alone by himself, he relished the feeling of her soft, bed-warmed weight lying next to his own. Her companionship was sorely missed.

"You know," she began, shifting on her side to meet his pensive gaze with her own. "I wouldn’t have chosen either side.”

Count on Robin to find a new angle. He hadn’t even considered a third option. “I can’t even _begin_ to imagine how’d that work out.”

“No, I’m just lazy,” she murmured, turning on her side to signal the end of their conversation. “I’d rather hide in the woods and eat rocks for a millennia before I had to pick a family. It’s an impossible choice.”

“Maybe that’s the story Lucina was talking about.” Chrom yawned, pulling Robin close to him so that they were flush together. “The myth lost to time. The princess unites both families and they defeat the evil together.”

“Maybe,” agreed Robin sleepily, twining her fingers with his own. “Maybe.”

 

* * *

 

And somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of Castle Krakenburg, Siegbert takes his father’s arm and hands him a large storybook.

“Father, could you read me the _Awakening_ story about Exalt Chrom and Robin?”

Queen Hinoka picks up her young son and presses a small kiss to his forehead. “Let’s all read it together,” she whispers.

King Xander’s lips pull to the side as he watches at his family huddle around the hearth. With a small contented sigh, he places his hand on Siegbert’s head and ruffles his hair. Then, pushing his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose, he begins to read, _“There was once a princess who leapt through time….”_

_  
_

**Author's Note:**

> I chose Hinoka at the end because 1.) She and Xander are cute together, and 2.) Corrin did choose Revelations like Chrom and Robin were speculating at the end. 
> 
> And I really couldn't think of a way to reconcile Odin, Laslow, and Selena in this fic, so that's why I didn't mention them at all. 
> 
> As always, this takes place in the "Morning Glory" post-game fic that I wrote for @ingrimasname's Brave New World Anthology fanzine.


End file.
